NEWS

Raptors Remain Undefeated With Dominant Win Over Gold

Raptors Remain Undefeated With Dominant Win Over Gold

By: MLR Correspondent, Colton Strickler

Sunday marked 20 days since the Glendale Raptors last played a Major League Rugby match.

It was apparent that the back-to-back bye week did the Raptors (5-0) some good. They put the cap on Week 7 on Sunday afternoon with a dominant (47-10) win over NOLA Gold (2-4) to remained the only undefeated team in the MLR.

Unfortunately for NOLA, Sunday’s match resembled a replay of the 55-26 loss they suffered at the hands of the Seattle Seawolves just a week earlier as the Raptors didn’t waste much time jumping out to a lead.

The Raptors got the scoring started when inside centre Bryce Campbell took a ball on the run in for a try in the third minute of the match. Fly-half Will Magie scored the first of his 17 points of the afternoon when he converted the kick to give the Raptors an early 7-0 lead.

Glendale used their fresh legs to put NOLA into a hole as quickly as they could. They strung together two more tries, one from Mika Kruse on the wing and one from flanker John Quill off a driving maul, to take a commanding 19-0 lead before the first water break.

The Gold showed their first signs of life on the other side of the water break when inside centre and team captain Taylor Howden put a grubber through the Raptor’s defense. The ball took a Gold bounce over Glendale fullback Seth Halliman’s head, allowing NOLA wing Joey Sok to jump on top of it for their first points of the match. Fly-half J.P. Eloff, back from his bout with chemical meningitis, couldn’t convert but the Gold shortened the lead to 14 points heading into the half.

The humid conditions of New Orleans made hanging onto the ball difficult for the Raptors, who finished the match with 20 handling errors. Nevertheless, it was Glendale who struck first in the second half as well. Just as NOLA was settling into their phase play, Magie jumped a pass and took it the opposite way for a try. He converted his own try to give the Raptors a 26-5 lead.

As Glendale’s reserves came on, the tries kept coming. Ata Malifa drew a Gold defender before offloading to Zach Fenoglio who walked in for a try between the posts. Magie’s put the Raptors up 33-5 before the second break of the match.

NOLA responded on the other side of the break with their second try of the match. Some phase play eventually placed the ball in the hands of fullback Cameron Troxler, but Howden wasn’t able to convert the kick.

The Raptors kept their foot on the gas, adding two more tries, one from Sam Figg and another from Campbell before the final whistle sounded, and the Raptors left with a 47-10 victory.

The five points that the undefeated Raptors picked up on Sunday places them at 24 points on the season, one behind the first place Seawolves who have played one more match than the Raptors have. NOLA stayed put in fifth place with 12 points. They trail the fourth place Utah Warriors, who currently hold the final playoff spot, by just three points.

The Raptors will head back to Glendale to take on the SaberCats on Friday, June 8 while NOLA will welcome the San Diego Legion to The Big Easy on Saturday, June 9.